Please see updated guidelines issued 12 March 2020 by clicking here.
The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has advised Catholics with cold or flu symptoms to refrain from receiving Communion on the tongue or from the Chalice in order to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The advice came as a Catholic school in Hampshire was closed after two students were placed in quarantine. St Mary’s Independent School in Southampton, Hampshire, a La Mennais brothers school, was closed for decontamination after the students, who had recently returned from China, started to display symptoms of the virus.
The advice comes in a guidance document for parishes and congregations that was published this week, and marks the first time that the bishops have spoken out on a public health issue since the H1N1 influenza, or Swine Flu, pandemic in 2009.
The bishops repeat the Government’s advice that “individuals in the UK remain at low risk”, the conference advises people who have visited Wuhan or Hubei Province in China in the last 14 days to self-isolate and not to attend Mass, even if they do not have symptoms of the virus. Symptoms which include a fever, difficulty breathing, or a cough.
“In religious communities members returning from China are advised to limit their time with other members of the community as much as possible. Avoid common meals or common Mass, worship and recreation times until after the 14 days,” the bishops advise.
Parishes are asked to ensure regular cleaning of surfaces that people touch regularly, to consider asking everyone at large gatherings to sanitise their hands before they come in, and to ensure Ministers of the Eucharist sanitise their hands before and after distributing Communion.
Pastoral visits to people who have the coronavirus should be suspended.
The bishops also directed Catholics to “combat discrimination against Chinese people and others wrongly suspected of spreading the virus.”
Bishop Paul Mason, the Bishops’ Conference’s lead on healthcare, said in a statement that the risk to the UK public is low.
“As Catholics we reiterate the commitment of the Church to health care ministry,” Bishop Mason said. “Ensuring we disrupt the spread of the virus is core to effective mission. Part of this is reassurance that we have no cause for fear.”
The guidance also ask we pray for all involved in the outbreak. “Pray for those infected by the coronavirus in China and around the world, for those who care for them, for health specialists and authorities who are combatting the spread of infection, and of course for all who at this time are feeling anxious, especially for those with friends and family in China,”
Source: The Tablet